NBC.com

Fear Factor
Original Airdate: 11/15/04

by Fearless Frankie

Things turned ugly when the "beautiful" people arrived for a special Models Fear Factor edition. Oh I know what you're thinking - more cute girls. Fear not female fans, there were three male models competing too! The über-thin girls and ultra-buff guys met up at a lake to see their first stunt. A helicopter flew by with 10 rings suspended beneath it. The final ring contained a Fear Factor flag. The players would each have to move from ring to ring, releasing the flag on their final ring before jumping into the lake. Jonathan, who gave up pre-med to model, was up first. He peeled off his t-shirt to reveal his picture-perfect abs, then he took to the air. He started on a little platform suspended beneath the helicopter. On Joe's signal, he leaned out to grasp the first ring and the stunt was on. Soon he had one hand on the third ring and the other on the fourth. He stalled, trying to sway back and forth to gather momentum in order to reach the fifth ring. Who knew that grade school jungle gym time would come in so handy later in life? Jonathan made it to the fifth and sixth rings, but his strength gave out and he fell into the water. Jonathan had gotten six rings in 53.6 seconds. Ken, who was a little smaller but no less beautiful than Jonathan, was next.

Ken was sporting about five visible tattoos - which makes you wonder how many weren't visible. Ken got the first ring fine, but started to spin under the helicopter's choppy flight pattern. He regrouped and got to the sixth ring. He twisted around again and slipped grasping for the seventh ring. Six rings in just over 40 seconds meant that Ken would automatically advance. If Chris also got six rings faster than Jonathan, he would advance as well. Chris was valeting cars when he got "discovered" by a modeling agent, so maybe luck was on his side. Chris almost slipped grasping the second ring, but recovered. As Jonathan watched anxiously, Chris passed the six ring mark and ultimately was the only guy to release the final flag (in less than 50 seconds)! Jonathan was out and the girls were up.

Christina, a fitness model, was up first. After a brief hesitation, Christina grabbed the first ring. However, she sort of just hung there for a long time wasting time and strength. When she went to swing out from the second ring to the third, Christina slipped and fell - quickly ending her attempt. All Tina had to do was get two rings faster than 6 seconds and she would advance. Unfortunately, Tina couldn't even grasp the first ring! She plunged right off the platform and into the drink! Aussie Kate was "just happy to be here." Maybe that's because she'd never seen a full episode of Fear Factor before! Well, if ignorance is bliss, then Kate was in luck. She hesitated on the first ring, then made it to the third ring. While reaching for ring #4, Kate slipped - but she had already beat both the other girls. Tina was out.

The four remaining models arrived at a greenhouse to face their second stunt. The daylight hour may have lulled them into a false sense of security, but Joe quickly took care of that. He briefly disappeared into the greenhouse and returned with a sample of what the players would face. Ropes. Ropes covered in worms, cockroaches, beetles (3 varieties!), and some lord-only-knows-what foamy sticky goo. But the players wouldn't be climbing the ropes…oh no! They would be LICKING the bugs, worms and critters off the rope and transferring them into a bowl! Why rope, you ask? It's still a mystery. Chris went into the greenhouse first and felt that he could transfer quite a few mouthfuls in the allotted one-minute time period. The other models just laughed in sheer disbelief at the task. Chris started with a big double mouthful of insects and kept up the pace. He seemed to target the big bugs, hoping they would add to his final transfer weight. In the end, while Chris spit bug bits out, Joe said he'd transferred 203.2 grams of bugs.

Kate was up next and said the grossest thing she'd eaten up to this point was kangaroo meat - in Paris no less. Kate literally licked it up! Chunky, stick bugs went from the rope to Kate's face and mouth and then into the bowl. Once time ticked down, Kate picked bugs off out of her nose. She had transferred 136 grams. Christina was next and determined to do better than the previous day. By now, the bugs were pretty picked over, but Christina gave it a go. She either didn't have a big enough mouth or didn't have her mental game in order, because she only transferred 52.2 grams. Unless Ken totally choked (so to speak), Christina was probably headed home. Then again, this was Fear Factor and anything was possible.

Ken had slim pickings since he was going last. Instead of going high up on the ropes where all the good, fresh bugs were, he revisited the picked-over places. In the end, Ken was gagging but got a final transfer weight of 71.6 grams. Christina was out. Because Chris had done the best, he was able to pick the order for the final stunt.

Dark water awaited the three finalists on the night three. Joe explained that the players would have to swim up into a clear cylinder as it filled with water. In only 30 seconds (or until they ran out of air), they'd have to hook as many flags as possible from around their waists onto the cylinder. Once time ran out, or they ran out of air, they would be "flushed" out of the cylinder and into the water. Chris chose Ken to go first. Ken took his position in the water, near the bottom of the suspended cylinder. At Joe's signal, he ducked up into the tube and began the stunt. Ken moved slowly and only got one flag in over 10 seconds. When time was up, Ken was flushed out of the tube - having planted only 4 flags. Chris sent Kate in next. The Aussie moved quickly, positioning herself by using her feet while she transferred flags. She was able to plant 6 flags, which meant Ken was out of the running for Model Fear Factor Champ. Would Chris be America's Next Top Fear Factor Model? (Yes, I'm channeling Tyra Banks!) Chris was neck-and-neck with Kate's time, but his seventh and final flag didn't count because it was posted after time ran out. Did he plant his 6th flag faster than Kate planted hers? Yes! He had won by only a 2 second margin, making him the Models Fear Factor Champ!